Yale Battles Michigan State To 1-1 Tie

NEW HAVEN, Conn. - The result was the same, a 1-1 tie with Michigan State, the Bulldogs' third straight draw to start the season, but head coach Brian Tompkins saw a difference.

"It sounds the same, but it's much different," Tompkins said. "We played with conviction and kept possession of the ball much better than we have in the first two games. This was our best performance of the season."

The 1,032 fans in attendance at the Soccer-Lacrosse Stadium for the second game of the Yale Classic certainly enjoyed it. Yale and defending Big Ten champion Michigan State battled hard for 110 minutes.

After a scoreless first half, Shannon Brooks gave the Bulldogs a 1-0 lead at 52:10 when he settled an Alex Munns' feed and fired a shot into the lower left corner from 10 yards out. The lead didn't last long, though, as MSU's Doug DeMartin scored a little more than two minutes later off Ryan McMahen's direct kick.

The Spartans (2-1-2) outshot Yale 24-13 but both teams had good scoring opportunities. Yale's Alex Guzinski was robbed by Michigan State goalkeeper Jason Tillman, who made a diving save with 16 minutes left in the first half.

The Bulldogs also had a good chance in the first overtime but Munns' header of a Ryan Morrissey cross went just over the crossbar.

Yale goalkeeper Erik Geiger, who finished with six saves, also was sharp. He made a diving save on a Kenzo Webster blast with 25:40 left in the second half.

In the first game of the day, Dartmouth edged American 1-0. P.J. Scheufele scored the only goal of the game on a penalty kick at 69:24. The Big Green was the awarded the penalty kick when Scheufele was pulled down in the box.

The Yale Classic resumes on Sunday. Dartmouth and Michigan State play at 11 a.m. followed by Yale-American at 1:30 p.m.